August 2008

August 31, 2008

I've finished the second of my little gift bags. This one is called Christmas Tree Bag. I wanted it to have a more country look so I used a ticking fabric for the main fabric and added some prairie points along the top.

For the applique tree, I used blanket stitch to give it a country feel. I also added binding around the top to finish it off. On the back of the bag I added a pocket - maybe you could slip a gift card in it?

The size of the bag is the same as the Joy Bag - 7" x 8". I'm pleased with the way it looks and have started bag number 3. This is the fabric I've selected - the green will be for the main and the spot for the lining. I'm also going to use my favourite ric rac braid.

You can probably guess the theme of that one if you look at the stitchery on the left.

The Quilter's Homecoming...

Last night (while Robin was watching the Wallabies being wiped out by the Springboks), I finished reading The Quilter's Homecoming by Jennifer Chiaverini. I've really enjoyed reading the Elm Creek Quilts series and this one was as good as the others. I particularly like the novels where she looks back into the lives of Sylvia's ancestors. This one is the story of her cousin Elizabeth's life when she moved to California. Like the other novels, the story of a couple of quilts is interwoven with the lives of the characters. I recommend this novel if you just want to read a 'nice' story. Very satisfying.

August 28, 2008

I've finished the first of my little gift bags. This one I'm calling the Joy Bag.

The finished size is 7" x 8". That's the size I'm going to make all the bags. This bag I lined with some lovely green spotty fabric and I had to use my favourite ric-rac braid. If you wanted to make it for another time other than Christmas you could omit the word Joy.

The second bag is going to be a bit more of a country bag and I've chosen some ticking fabric for the main fabric.

The little sketch on the left will give a clue to the theme. I'm going to do some applique this time rather than stitchery. I want each little bag to be different.

Confidence...

I'm still reading Joyce Meyer's book 'Be Your Best' and the second section (remember the first was Health) is Personal Growth. In the first of the articles Joyce looks at Confidence. She emphasizes that our confidence must be in Christ alone - not in ourselves, in others or in the world. Confidence comes from knowing that God loves us unconditionally. One thing she mentions is how self-doubt stops us walking in confidence by causing us to be afraid of making mistakes or doing the wrong things. I know that I have allowed fear to stop me from doing so many things in my life - especially fear of what people might think. How silly is that? God operates through faith not fear.

August 26, 2008

For the last couple of weeks I've been thinking about making some things for Christmas (it really isn't that far away you know). It always seems to come around too quickly and I always wish I had made more things to decorate my home with or to give as gifts. To get the ball rolling I decided to make some gift bags.

I've always liked the idea of gift bags because the bag becomes part of the gift and you can make a bag to suit the recipient. They can then use them for something useful like for example, a stitching bag or decorations. I then thought if I don't want to give them away, they make great decorations for my own home. You can put things in them or hang them from doorknobs.

I came up with 4 different bags and this is the fabric I chose for the first one -

If you look at the sketch in the right hand corner it will give you a clue as to what the theme of this bag is.

The patterned fabric is from the reproduction fabric club I belong to, and the spot is a Moda fabric. I'm going to add some ric-rac braid and a simple stitchery. Should be able to show you next time.

Knitting...

I'm still knitting in the evenings and am working on a short sleeved jacket from Drops designs. I discovered these patterns through Ravelry and they are all so good I had trouble choosing which one to make. I also bought some Drops designs wool called Eskimo (it's a bulky weight yarn) from Nordic Mart. The colour is a mixture of violet and blue

It's a lovely soft yarn and nice to knit with. The design is knit in one piece on a circular needle and then when you get to the yoke, the sleeves which are knit separately, are then added in.

This is up to the yoke, which is done in garter stitch. The rest is a simple pattern of stocking stitch with the occasional purl stitch on the right side, to add some interest.

I've found it quite heavy to work with because there are a lot of stitches on the needle and the yarn is very bulky but I like the way it is looking at the moment. I can't wait to finish it.

August 24, 2008

If you've been wondering what's happened to my Nice People Nice Things quilt, well, I haven't forgotten about it but have just been preoccupied with other projects lately. In fact, I finished another block today. (Actually, the stitchery has been finished for a couple of weeks and it's just been waiting for the borders, etc.)

This block is called 'Shoes':

The words are stitched in pink and the shoes in purple and blue. I used pink fabric for the border to match the pink thread. I was able to use the strips I had previously cut from other blocks so it really didn't take me long to finish it. Isn't that funny the way that happens? Sometimes, it only requires 30mins to an hour to finish something but we put it off and when we finally do it, we wonder why we didn't do it sooner!

August 22, 2008

Lots of new patterns arrived in store today. Too many to show them all so this is just a sampling. From Gail Pan - Send a Little Christmas Wish - a handy folder to store your Christmas cards in. The pattern also includes a bonus stitchery so you can also make a sewing folder.

Also from Gail - Poppy's Sewing Set but from Willow Valley Store there's another of Cathy's sampler series. This one is called Orchard Cottage Sampler.

There's also patterns from Lynette Anderson as well. See all the new patterns on my website.

Christmas fabric...

Lately I've been on a quest to acquire some Christmas fabric - not as simple as it sounds. I have a new design in the making and I've been struggling to find just the right fabric. Today I went to visit my friend Sheryl-Anne at Bungendore Patcbwork shop and was delighted to find this fabric from Peace on Earth range.

There's also a Moda Swatches Pack (that's the little pile of fabric at the back) which I had received in the mail from Sheryl-anne as part of her Moda Swatches Club so together with the fabric I bought today, I think I might have enough. I love that brown fabric, it's so rich in colour. The photo doesn't do it justice.

Knitting Journal...

Recently I added another page to my knitting journal. This page features the scarf and shawl I knit from yarn I purchased at the market. I have included the pattern so if I can't remember what I did, I have a record.

I'm really glad I've taken the time to do a journal because I've found the info stored in it to be invaluable at times. If you haven't started a stitching or knitting journal yet, I encourage you to give it a go. The time spent doing it really pays off.

August 20, 2008

2 new patterns from Melly & Me arrived today. The first is there beautiful block of the month called Once Upon a Time. It features 9 stitchery blocks all with fairy tale theme. The finished quilt size is 60"x60"

It's a little difficult to see all the blocks, but if you go to their blog you can see each one. One of my favourites is 3 Little Pigs.

All of the blocks are just as delightful.

The other new pattern from Melly and Me is Out & About. A handy satchel or laptop computer case.

I'm still watching the Olympics everyday and am truly inspired by some of the courageous performances I've seen. Last night I watched Anna Meares win the silver medal in cycling sprints which was an absolutely amazing feat considering that she had a major accident 7 months ago in which she broke a vertebrae. Makes my little aches and pains seem trivial.

I've also been proud of the sportsmanship shown by our Aussie athletes like Libby Lenton and the way she congratulated the German swimmer who just beat her. When the announcer mentioned it to Libby the great sportsmanship she displayed, Libby's response was "I know how hard she worked to get here."

I've watched as each athlete has given their all to the point of exhaustion like Grant Hackett who could hardly stand up after his 1500 metre race.

And, I've enjoyed the celebrations when a medal has been won like the Italian fencer who won her third gold medal in consecutive Olympics and was carried around on her coach's shoulders.

I'm not much into 'medal counting' but appreciate the effort, commitment and sacrafice the athletes have made and think that each participant is a winner.

August 19, 2008

One of my customers asked me to order her the Mother Goose patterns by Kookaburra Cottage. I'm not sure why I didn't have them in store before because Little Macca's Farm and Noah & Friends both by Majella, are so nice.

Yesterday I was looking through my cupboard and found a book by Joyce Meyer called Be Your Best. I bought the book last year but put it away because I had just read one of Joyce's books and frankly didn't like it. This one is a little different. It's in a magazine type format full of smaller articles and the theme is enjoying the life that Jesus died to give you. He wants us to be our very best in life and experience the joy of living a balanced life. The book is broken down into the areas of health, personal growth, sprituality, career and success, finances, relationships, and marriage and family. After each section, Joyce gives a bit of a challenge to think about how you can change that area of your life and what steps you will take.

I read the section on Health and found it to be full of really good advice. Joyce points out the importance of exercise, eating the right foods, sleep, and drinking lots of water and gives tips on how to make changes. When I thought about my life, I decided that the area I need to improve in is drinking water. When we lived in Indonesia, I drank copious quantities of water and I know the weather had a lot to do with it, but I also think it was because we couldn't drink water from a tap but had to buy our water. This meant we were very aware of our water consumption and had to plan ahead. I also felt the health benefits of drinking water over other fluids. When we came back to Australia I planned to keep up my water drinking but over the years, I know it's dropped back especially here in winter. So from today, I'm going to put a water bottle on my desk every day and make sure I drink my required amount.

August 17, 2008

Do you remember the cat's bed I was making from the pattern by Majella (Kookaburra Cottage) in Homespun magazine? Well, I finished it the other day.

I did all the blanket stitch by machine with black thread and rather than stitch the mouth and whiskers I drew them with permanent pen. I did sew on buttons for eyes - I was a bit worried about that, wondering if they would chew them off but I decided in the end that I would risk it.

The top and bottom are machine quilted - I did a large stipple stitch - and the binding is a red spot fabric. The sides are a bright spot fabric and there's a zip in one side. For the inside, there's a separate cushion insert made from calico which I filled with polyester toy fill. The whole cushion is very soft.

Seal of approval..

When I was in the process of making the pillow, I started to get a bit worried that the cats might not like their new bed. I kept thinking that I might have gone to all that trouble and they might not want to sleep on. Well, I need not have worried because as soon as it was finished, I put it on the floor in the family room to take a photo, and Flossie came to investigate. After sniffing around for a few seconds, she promptly made herself comfortable and went to sleep for 2 hours!

I opened the blinds for her so the sun shone on her and she was very comfortable. What a relief!

August 14, 2008

When Cathy's (Willow Valley Store) new pattern Zipperphobia arrived I was keen to 'have a go' so yesterday I rushed out and bought a zip to make a pouch. I wanted to use some reproduction fabric and after looking through my collection (hadn't realised it was so big!), I decided on these fabrics

and this is how it turned out

The pattern was very clear, and the most difficult part was choosing the fabric. I made the small rectangle one but didn't curve the corners. I also made my binding a little wider - wanted to 'show' more. For the lining I used 2 different green print reproduction fabrics. I 'm going to use this pouch to store my threads for a project in progress. At the moment I store my threads in a zip-lock bag so this is much more appropriate.

Now I've made one, I think I'll make more. Can see all sorts of possibilities including as gifts and the best part is, it's a very scrappy project so you can make it from your stash.

Olympics...

Went swimming this morning and was very inspired by our swim team. Just watched our girls win the 4 x 200m relay. How awesome was that?

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In 2012 we did the quilt called I am... based on the I am statements Jesus made in the book of John. If you would like more information please email me.